Evoking Emotions through Drums

M

martianmambo

Senior Member
Not too long ago, there was a thread about whether or not drums can convey the same broad emotional palette that other instruments can, such as piano, flute, and guitar. The general consensus was that drums' expressive range is limited to a few emotions and that it pales in comparison to the aforementioned instruments. I recall agreement that drums were rarely able to convey melancholy and other emotions among that spectrum. Well, recently, Youtube's algorithmic gods recommended a video of a Kendrick Scott drum solo titled "Philando" that does a stellar job of conveying darker, murkier emotions such as pain, loss, existential angst, and existential despair. While it's certainly true that its accompaniment aids in its expressive force, the drums remain the central voice of the solo. Waddya'll think? https://youtu.be/CcyJlQLu6-8
 
Possibly of interest of you would be Blake Fleming's stuff.

If you're going to get strange and artsy, you might as well take the leap and turn it up to 11.
 
Sounded kinda random and not very strung together to me. Couldn't really get into it or latch onto anything. So no emotion from me, drumming wise.
 
Nice one..!

Very nice one actually and definitely not sounding random in my opinion, quite the opposite..

I never heard before about Kendrick Scott to be honest, but i just checked also some other things from him and a pretty awesome player that is..

Many thanks for this..!
 
Drum's expressive range are limited to a few emotions.

I respectfully completely totally disagree with that consensus. Any instrument can convey emotion, in the right hands. That's totally the goal, if you asked me.

It's the ability of the player to express emotion through their instrument, not a property of the instrument IMO.
 
Unfortunately, the keyboard obscured the drumming, but definitely conveyed emotion - I was mad that I wasted 45 seconds waiting for something to happen! :)

Seriously, without the benefit of traditional mind-grabbers like minor keys, the mystery or urgency created by basses and cellos, etc, drums just don't convey emotion, no matter who plays them. Even Babatunde's "Drums Of Passion" didn't make me passionate.

Bermuda
 
Drums, not conveying emotion? Completely and categorically disagree. I guess it's in the ear of the beholder. I for one think the drum is a major player in the emotional content of songs.

Excitement is the first thing drums bring. Music minus drums doesn't excite me nearly as much as music with drums. Excitement is an emotion. I don't understand how anyone could gloss over that.

Watch Evelyn Glennie play drums. If you can't see emotion conveyed there, it's not Evelyn's doing.
 
Some of my earliest memories of being fascinated by and with drums involved me as a kid watching parades. I could hear cadences in the distant, gradually getting louder and louder until the bands marched directly in front of me. There was an excitement in my body that would build as the drums got closer and closer. Thankfully, that same kind of excitement is still available to me when I hear and see music played by drummers. And I think some players are are particularly good at conveying and evoking to and from me.

I'll add that these days, I don't find conceptualizing and assigning human experience to categories like emotions, thoughts, actions, etc., to be all that useful. When I listen to Bill Stewart, Jack DeJohnette, Paul Motian, Max Roach, etc. (the list could go on for days), there's a whole lot going on in my body--physical sensations, images both still and moving, experiences of being transported into different territories or "spaces," a connection with some kind of energy that I can tap into, and lots more. These are units of experience that shape and constitute life and create meaning for me. Divvying them up into separate components takes away from their richness.
 
Drums positively convey emotion, but the OP asked if they can convey the same broad range of emotions as other instruments. I think the short answer is no. A minor mode and mournful lyrics evoke emotions that I don't think a snare drum can.

But yeah, there are definitely emotions that can come from drumming. In fact, I think drums evoke certain emotions better than any other instrument.

A good example is the score Lalo Schifrin composed for the 1971 film Dirty Harry. It happens to be my favorite movie, and the score is a big part of the reason why. There's this scene where the rooftop killer is lining up a target in the park and the drums start to speed up and all other instruments kind of drop out. It makes my heart race just thinking about it. It's not just excitement, it's anxiety, even fear, that the drums convey in that moment.

Just to give one example.
 
bermuda said:
Unfortunately, the keyboard obscured the drumming, but definitely conveyed emotion - I was mad that I wasted 45 seconds waiting for something to happen! :)

Seriously, without the benefit of traditional mind-grabbers like minor keys, the mystery or urgency created by basses and cellos, etc, drums just don't convey emotion, no matter who plays them. Even Babatunde's "Drums Of Passion" didn't make me passionate.

Bermuda
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Seriously the only time I feeling emotion from drums is if I am on the battlefield in a Napoleonic War.
 
Interesting topic. I'm not sure exactly what I think. I definitely believe drums carry some sort of emotion. How could they not? Music and therefore musical instruments of all kinds are powerful "tools" that can have major effects on the mind.

One thing I realized several years back is that a tambourine is a "happy" percussion instrument. It's "celebratory" in a sense. It came to me after listening to Rubber Soul by the Beatles. The tambourine has the power to make a dark topic or depressing lyrics seem like a happy subject. To me anyway. Which could be dangerous.
 
larryace said:
Drum's expressive range are limited to a few emotions.

I respectfully completely totally disagree with that consensus. Any instrument can convey emotion, in the right hands. That's totally the goal, if you asked me.

It's the ability of the player to express emotion through their instrument, not a property of the instrument IMO.
Click to expand...

Agree 100% only limit is our imaginations. I can pass gas and make it sound sad or happy, ok I cant, but Ive seen it on Family Guy.
 
8Mile said:
Drums positively convey emotion, but the OP asked if they can convey the same broad range of emotions as other instruments. I think the short answer is no. A minor mode and mournful lyrics evoke emotions that I don't think a snare drum can.

But yeah, there are definitely emotions that can come from drumming. In fact, I think drums evoke certain emotions better than any other instrument.

A good example is the score Lalo Schifrin composed for the 1971 film Dirty Harry. It happens to be my favorite movie, and the score is a big part of the reason why. There's this scene where the rooftop killer is lining up a target in the park and the drums start to speed up and all other instruments kind of drop out. It makes my heart race just thinking about it. It's not just excitement, it's anxiety, even fear, that the drums convey in that moment.

Just to give one example.
Click to expand...

Nice 8Mile, great call on movie and score!
 
It is difficult to express an emotion on the drums when played all by themselves. But it can be done. But it would be only a general emotion.
Like excitement, sadness or maybe joy.
However, when played during a song, the drums can enhance or disrupt the emotion of the song.
Many drummers don't like and don't want to play solos during a song. I think it's sad. I'll take a solo during any song.
My solos only last one or two choruses. I maintain the tempo of the song. And here is the important part; as I'm playing my solo, I keep the melody of the song in my head.
I try to maintain the melody and groove of the song as part of my solo. In other words my solo maintains the emotion of the song.
So yes, drums can express emotion. Especially when you connect your playing with the emotion of a song.
Maybe that's not "expressing" emotion but only maintaining emotion. LOL


.
 
Thank you for all of your responses! And thank you, KamaK for the suggestion of Blake Fleming!

There are two things I want to clarify because some people appear to be misunderstanding my post.

The first is that I did not say drums cannot convey emotion. I wished to revisit the question I saw in an older thread about whether or not drums can convey the same range of emotions that, for example, piano can. Certainly, drums can convey emotion; there is simply no question about that. But can they express melancholy or despair? (My response was yes, with "Philando as my evidence).

The second is that I did not claim to be making any judgments about the role drums play in conveying emotion, with the sole exception of Kendrick Scott's "Philando." Instead, I was simply reporting a consensus that I observed in an old thread.
 
Ah come on, if you're happy and you know it...

There are kinds of dirges out there, it's 100% cultural. There are some extremely solemn drums out there, listen to some military funeral services for example.
 
MrPockets said:
Seriously the only time I feeling emotion from drums is if I am on the battlefield in a Napoleonic War.
Click to expand...

Took the words right out of my mouth MrPockets.

Also, maybe he's just an emotional drummer, not a conveyer of emotion without being able to see him. But, Brian Blade anyone?
 
I find if I'm serving the song right, it does in others more than me. I'm always excited pounding away, others don't always feel that way.
 
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